last treat the senate rejected a budget authored by congressmember paul ryan that would have cut programs such as medicaid and food stamps. the nigerian literary icon chinua achebe has died and at the age of 82. his novels, including the highly celebrated "things fall apart," provided a counterpoint to the colonial depiction of africa and helped give voice to a continent. in 2008 during a celebration of his birthday at the library of congress, chinua achebe was asked how the groundbreaking novel, published in 1958, had changed him. writinge process of "things fall apart, >> what it changed my life. because i had to invent the language of that story. something that anybody was teaching anywhere. the conversation between evo and english. make it up as i went along. >> chinua achebe died in boston after a brief illness. and those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. of the financial world are on the small mediterranean island of cyprus today. the government of cyprus has brokered a last-ditch $13 billion bailout dea